License plate sales help Horse Park repay loan early

By Carlos E. MedinaCorrespondent

Published: Thursday, July 4, 2013 at 6:31 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, July 4, 2013 at 6:31 p.m.

The Florida Horse Park is on a roll. Not only did the park receive a $2 million award by Gov. Rick Scott in May, on June 26 it repaid a $100,000 loan that was used to fund the approval process for a Florida specialty license plate in 2010.

The private loan was repaid, with interest, using the revenue that came from motorists buying the special plate for an extra $25 annual fee. Since going on sale in December 2010, the Discover Florida's Horses plate has grown steadily, with more than 2,000 plates active in 2012, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

Moving forward, the money from the plates is slated to pay down other park debts and supplement the operations budget

"We ended up paying $115,000 back. It took a little longer than was planned, but we paid it off a couple of months early," said Shawn Doherty, the park's executive director.

The goal is for license plate sales to generate $100,000 a year in fees. By 2012, sales of the plate were halfway there, with more than $52,000 collected that year. Through May of this year, nearly $27,000 in fees was collected, according to state records.

"The good news starts to create a positive mood, and we are starting to see people who made contributions to the park getting excited and appear willing to come back to the park because they see it's going back in the right direction," said Charlie Hicks, a current board member.

The horse park was created in 1996 by an act of the Florida Legislature and covers 500 acres in Southeast Marion County off County Road 475. The park struggled with finances early on and the debt grew to about $1.4 million before a change to the business model was made and new leadership was introduced.

The park debt is down to nearly $200,000, and some of the money from the license plates will go toward paying that down even more.

"There's some old debt that needs to be paid off. We're going to try to make good on those things and get some of the egg off our faces," Doherty said, referring to mistakes made in the past.

Some of the money also will be used to pay for advertising to promote the license plate in Marion and Hillsborough counties.

Marion residents are the largest purchasers of the plate, but Hillsborough is a close second.

The board decided to use the $2 million state award to go toward a covered arena, which they hope will attract a broader range of competitors to the park.

"With the arena, we'll be able to get the hunter/jumper and western pleasure people. We're going to have a park where everyone can come and play," Hicks said.

<p>The Florida Horse Park is on a roll. Not only did the park receive a $2 million award by Gov. Rick Scott in May, on June 26 it repaid a $100,000 loan that was used to fund the approval process for a Florida specialty license plate in 2010.</p><p>The private loan was repaid, with interest, using the revenue that came from motorists buying the special plate for an extra $25 annual fee. Since going on sale in December 2010, the Discover Florida's Horses plate has grown steadily, with more than 2,000 plates active in 2012, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.</p><p>Moving forward, the money from the plates is slated to pay down other park debts and supplement the operations budget</p><p>"We ended up paying $115,000 back. It took a little longer than was planned, but we paid it off a couple of months early," said Shawn Doherty, the park's executive director.</p><p>The goal is for license plate sales to generate $100,000 a year in fees. By 2012, sales of the plate were halfway there, with more than $52,000 collected that year. Through May of this year, nearly $27,000 in fees was collected, according to state records.</p><p>"The good news starts to create a positive mood, and we are starting to see people who made contributions to the park getting excited and appear willing to come back to the park because they see it's going back in the right direction," said Charlie Hicks, a current board member.</p><p>The horse park was created in 1996 by an act of the Florida Legislature and covers 500 acres in Southeast Marion County off County Road 475. The park struggled with finances early on and the debt grew to about $1.4 million before a change to the business model was made and new leadership was introduced.</p><p>The park debt is down to nearly $200,000, and some of the money from the license plates will go toward paying that down even more.</p><p>"There's some old debt that needs to be paid off. We're going to try to make good on those things and get some of the egg off our faces," Doherty said, referring to mistakes made in the past.</p><p>Some of the money also will be used to pay for advertising to promote the license plate in Marion and Hillsborough counties.</p><p>Marion residents are the largest purchasers of the plate, but Hillsborough is a close second.</p><p>The board decided to use the $2 million state award to go toward a covered arena, which they hope will attract a broader range of competitors to the park.</p><p>"With the arena, we'll be able to get the hunter/jumper and western pleasure people. We're going to have a park where everyone can come and play," Hicks said.</p>